‘King William’: Sydney’s tennis icon hopes to stay on to receive a letter from the king to celebrate his 100th birthday

Norman Wong has enough tennis accreditation lanyards to last a lifetime. But the oldest volunteer in Sydney won’t stop until he adds one more important document to his collection – a letter from King Charles, or William, to celebrate his 100th birthday. Sydney’s annual lead-in event to the Australian Open has had many names over the years, but the one constant has been Wong who is 96 and is currently volunteering for the 25th consecutive summer. It’s an incredible achievement for a man who started playing when he was 17 and hasn’t ditched the sport, even if he spends a bit more time these days playing Sudoku and other puzzles to keep him going. Wong has greeted fans for a quarter of a century and has done so alongside his wife Sophia Rechichi who was a prodigy coming through the ranks in China. Fans at the United Cup see players come and go, but there’s one constant at the door who has grand plans on the horizon. “I’ll keep coming because I’ve set myself a goal,” he told the NewsWire at Ken Rosewall Arena in Sydney, hinting he might outlive the current king. “I want to be here to show people my King William letter. “That’s going to be a driving force for me to keep active and fit for me to be able to do that in a few years.” Sydney’s scorching weather doesn’t worry him given he knows where to take advantage of the shade and has the local knowledge of when the southerlies will hit. It also helps that he loves doing what he does after answering a simple online ad. “I was a member of the Chinese Tennis Association at the time, and someone mentioned online that they were looking for volunteers,” he said. “I applied, and that was it. It’s the joy of social intercourse and having a bit of fun and exercise (that keeps me coming back). “My main role here has been on the doors and helping people in and out so you get to talk to people every now and then. Those interactions keep me socially active, and that’s the main thing. “I like the atmosphere here because as normal, we get in close quarters with the best tennis players in the WTA and the ATP world, so it’s something I appreciate and look forward to each year.” Wong may be the tournament’s oldest volunteer, but the United Cup is also home to the youngest volunteer and ball kid. Born in Belgium, 12-year-old Mia Vermeulen has served as the flag-bearer for the team and was a ball kid for both of their matches in Sydney where she got to meet players Elise Mertens and Zizou Bergs. “Zizou is really cool — he’s a fighter and has such a great style of tennis. Elise really impressed me too,” she said. “I’ve watched them on court, but being able to talk to them and speak in my native language with them was really, really cool.” Wong is thrilled to see the younger generation getting involved and has adopted a famous slogan to encourage more people to volunteer. “If you’re young and dedicated to tennis then I think you should become a volunteer at any age,” he said. “I started when I was 73, so if you start now then you’re going to beat my record. “I tell people to adopt the Nike slogan to ‘Just do it’.”